Tokyo Games Torch Relay To Start On March 25
The torch relays of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, postponed to next year, are to be held based mostly on the original plan.
The organizing committee announced on Monday that the Olympic torch relay will start in Fukushima Prefecture on March 25 and continue for 121 days covering all parts of Japan. The starting day is one day ahead of the original plan.
The Olympic flame has been kept burning since it arrived from Greece on March 20 before the decision to postpone the Games was made.
For the Paralympics, flames will be collected in hundreds of municipalities in all 47 prefectures in Japan.
A relay will start on August 17. The route covers Shizuoka, Saitama, Chiba prefectures and Tokyo, where competition venues are located. After the flames are combined in Tokyo, another relay will take place in the capital for four days.
Organizers had considered shortening the relays to cut costs. But they and the IOC Coordination Commission agreed last week to maintain the original plan to allow all parts of Japan a chance to participate in the event.
The organizers plan to reduce the number of motorcades and staff for the relays and downsize related celebrations.
